Review of HCG for Weight Loss Injections and Drops - WebMD

Can taking HCG help you lose weight? Read the review and find out the truth about HCG.

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Take a "natural" hormone the body makes during pregnancy -- and lose a lot of weight? That's the promise that's turned the hCG Diet -- named after that hormone -- into a craze that just won't quit. If you also go on an ultra-low-calorie diet, backers claim, hCG can “reset your metabolism” so you lose as much as a pound a day without feeling hungry or weak.

A multiple pregnancy is a high-risk pregnancy for the mother and for the babies. Follow your doctor's instructions about any special care you may need during your pregnancy. Using HCG can increase your chances of having a multiple pregnancy (twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc).

However, crash diets like this can lead to serious health problems and trigger or accelerate an eating disorder. The Facts: Science has spoken: A 1995 meta-analysis of the data showed that hCG does not promote weight loss. When the body doesn't get the protein it needs, it can scavenge from vital organs, even the heart, which can cause sudden death, warns David Katz, MD, founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and a Prevention advisor. When dieters do lose weight, it's more likely from a combination of the placebo effect and calorie restriction, not the hormone.